Alabama Shakes in Memphis

About Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes are a four-piece from Athens, Alabama that somehow managed to make soul music feel urgent and unfinished in the best way possible. Brittany Howard's voice is the thing that stops you mid-conversation—it's got this raw, searching quality that sounds like it's being pulled from somewhere deep. The band broke through around 2012 with Boys & Girls, an album that felt genuinely different in a landscape of carefully calibrated indie rock. Hold On became their crossover moment, a song so fundamentally right that it still sounds fresh. Their follow-up Sound & Color showed real growth, with Howard's voice getting stranger and more confident at once. What makes them matter is that they never sound like they're performing soul music so much as living in it. There's always something slightly off-balance about their arrangements, a willingness to let songs breathe unevenly. They've never chased trends or tried to be cooler than they are. Just four people from Alabama making music that feels true.

They command a room with zero showmanship. Howard stands still mostly, lets her voice do the talking while the band locks into grooves that get tighter as the set goes on. Crowds quiet down to listen. When they hit the big ones, people lose it quietly—no screaming, just this palpable relief.

Known for Hold On, Don't Wanna Fight, Sound & Color, Girls in Alabama, Be Mine

Alabama Shakes + Memphis

Alabama Shakes rolled through Memphis in the summer of 2016, bringing their particular brand of soulful rock to Mud Island Amphitheater. They leaned heavily into their catalog that night, opening with the understated "Future People" and letting the set breathe through deeper cuts like "Shoegaze" and "On Your Way" before hitting the inevitable peaks with "Don't Wanna Fight" and "Sound & Color." The setlist felt like a band comfortable in their skin, mixing album deep cuts with crowd favorites in a way that suggested they weren't just running through the hits. "You Ain't Alone" closed things out, which felt right—a statement rather than a victory lap.

Alabama Shakes in Memphis News

• New Uptown music venue announces first concert Daily Memphian · Dec 15, 2025
• Alabama Shakes set to play new Memphis venue Grind City Amp The Commercial Appeal · Dec 12, 2025
• Alabama Shakes to headline Grind City Amphitheater's first concert localmemphis.com · Dec 12, 2025
• Alabama Shakes to headline first show at new Grind City Amphitheater Action News 5 · Dec 12, 2025
• Alabama Shakes Set Spring 2026 Tour Dates Pitchfork · Dec 12, 2025

Live Music in Memphis

Memphis has always been a place where soul and rock bleed into each other without asking permission. From Stax Records to the present day, the city's DNA is built on that exact collision—rhythmic intensity paired with genuine emotion. Alabama Shakes fit naturally into that lineage, their blues-inflected rock sounding like something Memphis would recognize as its own, even if the band came from Alabama.

Memphis road trip to see Alabama Shakes?

Stay in Cooper-Young, Memphis's most livable neighborhood—tree-lined streets, independent shops, actual life happening. Dinner at Chez Philippe for French technique applied to Southern ingredients, or Goro for thoughtful Japanese food if you want something different. Spend an afternoon at Sun Studio if you haven't been, then walk Beale Street on your own terms before the crowds arrive. Hit up the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum to understand why this city matters. End the weekend at a smaller venue like Growlers or The Beale Street Landing to see how live music actually functions here.